Mohegan Sun-Sponsored Study Says Casino Smoking Ban Could Be Costly

An outright ban on smoking at the Mohegan Sun Casino would cost Connecticut 3,796 jobs and $164 million in lost wages, assuming that casino revenues dropped by 20 percent, according to a study released Tuesday.

Mohegan Sun sponsored the study to combat a bill now advancing in the state legislature that would impose a ban on smoking at Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino by 2011.

The study by the nonprofit Connecticut Economic Resource Center says casino revenues fell by as much as 20 percent in some U.S. states and cities that have imposed similar smoking bans.

The center's analysis assumes a potential 20 percent revenue loss for Mohegan Sun, but the Rocky Hill group says it is not predicting such a drop.

"We're not predicting anything," said Jeff Blodgett, the center's vice president for research. "We were asked to simulate a 10 percent reduction and a 20 percent reduction."

Assuming a 20 percent drop, the state would also lose $42 million in slot machine revenues. The casinos pay the state 25 percent of all slot revenues.

The study considered the ban's potential effects as related to Mohegan Sun only, although the ban would also apply to Foxwoods. Blodgett said that Foxwoods did not supply the necessary information to include it. The figures would be roughly double if Foxwoods were included, he said.

In a letter to legislators dated Monday, Mohegan Sun Chief Executive Mitchell Etess said that gamblers who smoke would probably visit slot parlors in nearby states if a smoking ban is adopted in Connecticut.

"There will be layoffs, and a cascading loss of business to us and our vendors," he wrote.

Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods have said they would challenge a ban in court, or possibly withhold the state's share of slot revenues.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, a proponent of the ban, questioned the assumption that a drop in revenue might ensue.

"There were similar predictions of economic apocalypse when the state adopted a smoking ban in restaurants and bars and other public places," he said. "In fact, not only were the predictions dead wrong, but businesses at many of the smoke-free venues actually increased, because the public responded favorably."